Seven tourists dined and dashed at a popular Siġġiewi restaurant leaving an unpaid €135 bill, the owners claim.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the owners of Marilù’s posted stills of CCTV footage showing the seven diners who they say left without settling their bill.

“They don’t realise that it really affects a small home-run business like ours," the owners wrote.

“Just a heads up to other restaurants and bars, this group of 7 French-speaking tourists had a nice lunch followed by coffee at ours and then left in twos discreetly while our servers were busy tending to other tables and the bar."

The owner of Marilù's told Times of Malta that the large group arrived at the restaurant and said they were in a "rush" to be served.

"We made sure that their dishes were served quickly, and we even served them coffee," she said.

"Then they began to leave slowly, first two people went downstairs and outside, and then another person went to the bar to ask for the coffee to be put in a take-away cup and then walked outside. We were very busy and didn't notice they all left, this never happened to us before."

She said the group left their €135 bill left unsettled.

She reported the group to the police but was informed it might be difficult to trace them, as they might have been on their way to the airport.

It is the second incident involving the establishment in a year. Last January, CCTV footage filmed a pick-up truck driving and smashing into stone planters outside the restaurant.  

The next day, the driver and passengers owned up and replaced the planters they destroyed.

A similar dine-and-dash incident happened earlier last year when five youths ordered a full meal and coffee at the Msida restaurant Pasta and Co and ran away without paying.

Yet, the father of one of the youths involved apologised, settled the unpaid bill by donating €250 to charity and even offered to send his son to work at the restaurant for free.